Open Illinois.org

Teachers, Unions, and Transparency

From S.T. Karnick at The American Culture:

In case you missed it, LA Times reporters Jason Felch, Jason Song and Doug Smith used California’s public records law to obtain seven years of math and English test scores from the

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Clout Hiring Alive in Chicago

A clout hiring scandal in Chicago’s Department of Transportation (CDOT) has led to a five-day, unpaid suspension for an engineering technician and the resignation of a Deputy Commissioner. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Jim Bolster was slapped with the five-day

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Cook County Job Training Program Under Review

A state audit of a Cook County jobs training program is raising concerns about some of the program’s expenditures. The Chicago Tribune reports:

Among an audit’s 68 findings were questions about whether youths who were paid more than $1

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Locksmiths Take Home $54K Salaries

The State of Illinois hired 33 locksmiths in calendar year 2008 for $1,786,125 in combined total wages

$2.5M for State Clinical Psychologists

The State of Illinois hired 33 clinical psychologists in calendar year 2008 for $2,516,451 in combined total wages.

Summertime Blues

According to the Chicago Tribune, a new Congressional report called “Summertime Blues” shows stimulus funding has gone to buy iPods for high school students, cell phones for smokers trying to quit, and advertising for the stimulus itself.

Electricians Cost State $7 Million

The State of Illinois hired 107 electricians in fiscal year 2008 for $7,370,091 in combined total wages.

State Nutritionists Make 6.3% More than Private Sector Counterparts

The Illinois Department of Human Services hired ten nutritionists in fiscal year 2008 for $543,117 in combined total wages. The average salary for a nutritionist was $54,311 while the highest paid nutritionist took home a $65,165 salary.

New Trier Township Area Transparency Results, 4 out of 25 Pass

Glenview, Northfield Park District, Glencoe School District 35, and Sunset Ridge District 29 score well on transparency audit.

Barrington Township Area Transparency Results, None Pass Test

An audit of the Barrington Township area in Northwestern Cook County revealed no local government agencies graded received a passing grade on basic online transparency guidelines.